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RACISM

Racism in Spain reducing my desire to play football: Brazil’s Vinicius

Brazil winger Vinicius Junior said his desire to play football was reducing as incidents of racial abuse aimed at him piled up in Spain, during a tearful media appearance Monday.

Racism in Spain reducing my desire to play football: Brazil's Vinicius
Brazil's forward Vinicius Junior cries as he gives a press conference. Photo: Pierre-Philippe MARCOU/AFP.

The Real Madrid forward has suffered abuse from opposition fans on many occasions in recent years, with one incident in Valencia in May provoking worldwide outrage.

Spain will face Vinicius’ Brazil at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday under the slogan “One Skin” to help combat racism.

“I’ve been seeing this (racism) for a long time, and every time I feel sadder, and every time I have less desire to play,” Vinicius told a news conference.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

The forward broke down in tears at one point after answering questions about the racist abuse he has suffered in different stadiums across Spain. However later, Vinicius said would not leave Spain and try playing in a different country to escape the abuse.

“I would be giving the racists what they want,” continued the 23-year-old. “I will stay at the best club in the world, scoring as many goals as I can so they keep watching me.”

Vinicius said he wished he could only think about his playing career.

“Playing football is very important but the fight against racism is hugely important,” he said.

“I want people of colour to have a normal life and if that was the case, I would go to games with my club only focussed on playing.”

Earlier, Spain defender and Vinicius’ Real Madrid team-mate Dani Carvajal said his country was not racist.

“I am sure that Spain is not a racist country but there are many racists here and many of them are in the stadiums,” said Vinicius. “From the first time I complained about racism in Spain it’s been blowing up… they are insulting me over the colour of my skin so I play worse on the pitch.

“They can say many other things to me and I wouldn’t say anything, I hope I can go to stadiums and not think about what could happen.”

The player recently condemned Atletico Madrid fans for racist chanting aimed at him before their Champions League clash against Inter Milan earlier in March.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: The racism problem that has blighted Spanish football

“It’s a sad reality that happens even during matches where I am not present,” said Vinicius on social media platform X.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said in November Vinicius has become “unfortunately used to” racism in Spain.

‘Ugliest thing’

Carvajal said earlier Monday he did not think his country was racist but also that racist insults were the “ugliest” thing that exists in sport.

“I don’t think Spain is a racist country,” said Carvajal. “We have a very high level of integration, I come from a humble neighbourhood, Leganes, and grew up with boys of all types of nationalities.

READ ALSO: Spain not a racist country, says Carvajal before Brazil friendly

“I have a lot of friends with different colour skin.”

Carvajal said he thought fans slinging racist insults at players were unleashing their frustrations in an “ugly” way at athletes. “Sadly there are people who go to football it seems to let loose all their rage, their anger,” he continued. “When it seems that it hurts someone, they do it more and it’s a pity.

“Those type of people should not be allowed into stadiums because it’s the ugliest thing that exists in sport.”

Right-back Carvajal is likely to directly face Vinicius if selected to start against Brazil. “Against a player of that quality it’s hard to have a clear plan because in the end he is capable of overwhelming anyone,” added Carvajal.

“We have to try and close him down, not give him space and having help with that will be the key.”

Spain lost 1-0 last Friday against Colombia in a friendly defeat as they continue preparations for Euro 2024.

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CRIME

Spain investigates letters ordering companies to not hire foreigners

For five years, numerous companies in Spain's northern Navarre region have been receiving e-mails urging them to not hire foreign workers and threatening them with boycotts if not, correspondence that's now being investigated as a hate crime.

Spain investigates letters ordering companies to not hire foreigners

The email address  from which they were sent was always the same, the wording very similar. As far as authorities know, they continued for at least five years between 2017 and 2023.

A court in Pamplona has now taken the matter on and is investigating these e-mails as a possible hate crime.

Some of these e-mails were sent to the director of a residence in Estella/Lizarra in 2020. He received up to 10 of these from the same sender urging him to “nationalise his workforce”.

He publicly denounced the e-mail and released it. The text read: “In the face of possible economic reactivation after the current pandemic, we encourage you to nationalise your workforce; that is, to replace immigrants (including those who are naturalised) with nationals or, if you were to increase the workforce, to hire only nationals. Internally or externally (clients, neighbours, suppliers, etc.) we already know which companies have too many foreigners, and with that information, lists of companies have been made according to sectors so that people know who they employ with their money. Contracting is free, but so is consumption. This is politically incorrect, but not at all illegal. It is simply necessary”.

Many other companies received similar emails around the same time.

In the summer of 2023 the case reached the Racism and Xenophobia Assistance Service (SARX), which decided to carry out an investigation and finally passed it on to the Prosecutor’s Office.

Now, the first Investigative Court of Pamplona is investigating the size and scale of this situation to see how many companies the letters have actually reached.

Johanna Flores, lawyer and coordinator of the Racism and Xenophobia Assistance Service, has emphasised the importance of these e-mails being investigated as a possible crime: “It is very positive because when there is a person who wants to systematically send emails of this kind, they will think twice, since they know that it could have a criminal nature”.

Almost half of all new workers in Navarra in the last year are foreigners, according to 2024 social security figures.

Spain’s National Security Council warned the government about a rise in xenophobia and racist hate crimes back in 2019. There have also been numerous counts of racial discrimination towards prospective tenants and home-buyers. 

In 2023 Real Madrid star Vinicius was racially abused in Spain’s top flight football league. Writing on Instagram, Vinicius said Spain was viewed as “a country of racists” in his homeland.

READ ALSO: The racism problem that has blighted Spanish football

This type of racial abuse is not new in Spanish football.. In 2004, thousands of Spanish fans shouted racial insults at black players during an England-Spain match at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in Madrid. This prompted outrage in the UK and threatened to escalate into a diplomatic row, with both prime ministers at the time – Tony Blair and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero – condemning the actions.

Alba García Martín, a member of the anti-racism NGO SOS Racismo has explained: “The immigration law is racist to its core. It does not allow you to regularise your migration status for three years, it pushes immigrants to employment off-the-books and does not provide you any kind of rights as a citizen. All the other racial issues derive from this law. There is no anti-racist legislation, for example, for crimes related to racism. There are no anti-racist laws,” she adds. 

READ MORE: Spain to debate blanket legalisation of its 500,000 undocumented migrants

It’s hoped that if these e-mails are found to be a hate crime, it will set a precedent and stop others from considering these types of attacks in the future.

READ ALSO: ‘Homologación’ – How Spain is ruining the careers of thousands of qualified foreigners

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